With the rise of online marketing over the last few decades, there is now a head-spinning variety of methods to add to traditional offline approaches you can use to put your offer in front of your target market.
Here are some of today's key marketing channels, both online and off.
Social media is a great place to conduct market research, build relationships with your audience, and promote your products and services. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram give you a wealth of information about the people who buy products like yours. You can get to know them and introduce them to your brand. Although people don't generally buy directly on social media, it has become an increasingly important step in the buying process.
Offer helpful advice and share your knowledge with readers by publishing articles about your topics. You can find offline publishing opportunities but the quickest way to get your work widely read is to publish it online. You can start your own site or blog, or for even better results, find websites or blog sites that publish articles. Get your work out there to reach a new audience.
Start an email list and offer helpful content to your subscribers. Email is still the most intimate marketing channel on earth. Create a freebie offer in exchange for people signing up for your list and set up an opt-in page to capture names and addresses. You can promote products and services through your email messages, but most content should be informational and helpful, not promotional.
You'll still get plenty of leads through search engines, so make sure all your websites are search engine friendly. Choose some good keywords and use them naturally throughout your text. Make sure your site is easy to navigate, and try to build some backlinks into your site from related sites.
Attend trade shows, conferences, seminars and local events. Hold a booth and give a presentation, if possible, where you introduce your topic. Just like your content marketing, give people information they can use and tell them that you have more to offer.
Make sure you have professional business cards to hand out to people you meet offline. Your business card should be eye-catching and include your contact information and a short blurb describing your business's unique value.
Networking is essential to growing a business; you should never miss an opportunity to meet someone and tell them what you do.
Remember that the concept of marketing is actually quite simple – just find your audience and put your offer in front of them. Choose the marketing channels where you can most efficiently and effectively reach your target market.
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Andrew Wilson is a Digital Marketing Strategist and CEO of First Digital Studio Ltd, based in Bicester and Banbury, Oxfordshire. Andrew has 20+ years of experience in ROI-driven digital marketing and web design for small businesses. Also a keen networker in Bicester and Oxfordshire, he's a community leader. His diverse roles, from Aston University to freelancing, underline his adaptability and results focus. Off-duty, he enjoys a cuppa or walks with his dogs.
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